UNCG 6, East Carolina 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG's women's tennis team evened its record Saturday, rolling to a 6-1 win over East Carolina at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center.
The Spartans (2-2) got things going with a sweep in doubles play. Kayla Gammie and Annette Rios made short work of Renata Bakieva and Abby Richmond at No. 3, cruising to an 8-1 win. Devon Sutherland and Alex Whitehead clinched the point for UNCG at No. 2, taking an 8-3 win over Natalie Collins and Dana Gray.
At No. 1, UNCG's 40th-ranked duo of Lucy Dougherty and Niltooli Wilkins took an 8-4 win over Danielle Terpko and Yilian Zhang to complete the doubles sweep.
In singles play, Dougherty picked up the Spartans' first win, 6-1, 6-0 over Terpko at No. 4. Rios followed suit with a 6-0, 6-2 triumph over Gray at No. 5 and freshman Stephanie Falcon clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Richmond at No. 6.
Wilkins dropped Zhang at No. 1, 6-3, 6-3, before ECU (1-4) earned its lone win of the day at No. 2, where Collins topped Dilara Yurtkuran by the same score. Whitehead wrapped things up with a 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6) win over Bakieva at No. 3.
UNCG returns to action when it hosts Gardner-Webb on Feb. 21 at the UNCG Tennis Courts. That match is slated for a 2 p.m. start.
Elon 5, Gardner-Webb 2
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Frida Jansaker clinched the match and the Elon women's tennis team improved to 3-2 on the year with a 5-2 victory over Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Feb. 11, inside the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill.
After sweeping all three doubles matches to earn the point, took two out of the first three singles matches to take a 3-1 lead over the Runnin' Bulldogs. Viviana Stavreva earned a 6-0, 6-2 win over Tavenner Black. Maria Camara Ruiz followed it up with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Gardner-Webb's Yasmin Doost to push the maroon and gold closer to victory.
Jansaker, who already won her doubles match with Jordan Johnston earlier in the day to improve to 5-0, gave Elon the match point versus Jenny Lunde with a 6-4, 6-1.
Bryn Khoury recorded her fourth straight win of the season in the match, claiming a come-from-behind three-set win over Alice Hopkins, 1-6, 6-1, 10-2.
Along with Johnston/Jansaker's victory in doubles play, Briana Berne and Maria Camara Ruiz defeated Erica White and Tavenner Black, 8-6, while Khoury/Stavreva topped GWU's Ioana Oprea and Jenny Lunde, 8-2.
Elon returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 15, when it travels to Greenville, N.C., to face the East Carolina Lady Pirates at 3 p.m.
Samford 4, South Alabama 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University women's tennis team continued its stellar play to open the 2012 dual-match season Saturday as the Bulldogs registered a 4-0 triumph against the South Alabama Jaguars in a non-conference matchup held at the Samford Tennis Complex.
With the win, Samford (5-0) remained undefeated this season and extended its winning streak to five consecutive matches. All five of the Bulldogs' victories in 2012 have occurred at the Samford Tennis Center. Already this year, Samford has also bested Middle Tennessee 4-3, Louisiana-Lafayette 6-1, Austin Peay 6-1 and Jacksonville State 7-0.
The Bulldogs will take their five-match winning streak on the road Friday at 1 p.m. (CST) as Samford heads to Southern Miss for their first contest away from home this season.
With Saturday's loss, South Alabama (2-2) dropped its second straight decision. Prior to facing the Bulldogs, the Jaguars fell short in a hard-fought 4-3 loss to Middle Tennessee on Sunday.
Samford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in Saturday's match by winning the all-important doubles match.
In doubles play, the Bulldogs' No. 1 combination of Kristin Lewis and Lindsey Mallory tallied an 8-5 victory over South Alabama's duo comprised of Emily Newton and Alina Volman. Samford's doubles team of Rebecca Kirven and Madelie Janse Van Rensburg also proved to be victorious as it earned an 8-3 win on court No. 2.
While playing in cold and windy conditions at the Samford Tennis Center on Saturday, the Bulldogs earned three quick victories in singles play to secure the 4-0 triumph.
On court No. 1, Samford's Lewis breezed to a 6-3, 6-3 win, while Janse Van Rensburg held on for a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory in the No. 2 singles matchup. The Bulldogs also received a straight-set win on court No. 3 as Stephanie N'tcha topped the Jaguars' Mariya Krachok, 6-1, 6-2.
Samford's Janse Van Rensburg improved to a perfect 5-0 in singles play Saturday, while Lewis moved to 4-1 on court No. 1 this season and N'tcha increased her record to 3-2.
The Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Friday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs compete in their first road contest of the season at Southern Miss. The match will be held at the USM Tennis Courts in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Wofford 4, UNC Asheville 3
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Freshman Emily Przystawski's three-set win at the No. 6 position was the deciding point, as the Wofford women's tennis team earned a 4-3 win over UNC Asheville Saturday afternoon at the Asheville Racquet Club in Asheville, N.C.
The Terriers improve to 3-1 overall with the win, which includes a three-match win streak. The Bulldogs drop to 2-3 on the year.
In doubles play, the pairing of Sarah Evans and Guinn Garcia defeated Emily McNall and Christine Bossevain (8-3) at the No. 1 position, yet Asheville took the remaining two matches to claim the doubles point and hold an early 1-0 advantage.
Wofford fought back at the onset of singles action, as Julia Paulson downed Emily McNall (6-4, 6-2) in straight sets at the No. 2 position to even the score at 1-1. The Bulldogs quickly jumped back ahead at 2-1 when Christine Boissevain defeated Guinn Garcia (7-6(4), 7-5) at the No. 4 position.
The Terriers answered back, taking the next two matches to hold a 3-2 advantage as Audrey Coventry fought from behind to defeat Amryn Soldier (5-7, 6-4, 6-1) in three sets at the No. 3 position and Othilia Lindqvist downed Jenna Dodge (6-4, 6-4) in straight sets at the No. 5 spot.
Asheville evened the score at 3-3 when Zoe Hamel defeated Sarah Evans (6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2) at the No. 1 position. The match at the No. 6 position was the deciding match, with Emily Przystawski earning the win in the third set over Amie Cloer (7-5, 4-6, 6-3) to give Wofford the overall victory.
The overall match lasted a total of six and a half hours due to being played in an indoor facility.
The Terriers will return to action on Friday, February 17th as they host Kennesaw State. The match is scheduled for a start time of 2:00 p.m. at the Reeves Tennis Center.
Chattanooga 5, Evansville 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team posted a 5-2 win over previously undefeated Evansville today. The Lady Mocs won the doubles point and four of six singles matches to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Evansville came into today's match at the Kenlake Tennis Center in Aurora, Ky., with a perfect 4-0 mark. UTC was also undefeated after a pair of 7-0 sweeps over Belmont and Lipscomb to open the spring schedule.
Junior Jenna Nurik and freshman Kaylene Chadwell started off with an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles. They improved to 10-1 on the season and 3-0 in spring action. Evansville evened the doubles competition with a win at No. 1.
That left the No. 3 match between the Purple Aces' Aleksandra Dzakula and Jessica Raatz and UTC seniors Charlotte Bossy and Shaina Singh as the decider. Evansville was up 8-7 and 40-30 before Singh and Bossy fought off match point and force tiebreaker. The Chattanooga seniors dominated the extra frame 7-1 to win the match and take a 1-0 team lead.
That same drama extended to three of the first four singles matches. The only one that wasn't close was senior Emily Hangstefer's match at No. 4. She defeated Emily Richardson (6-3, 6-1) to improve to 9-1 on the year and give Chattanooga a 2-1 lead.
Chadwell dropped her first set to Dzakula 7-5 and battled throughout the second frame. Dzakula would eventually knot the team score at two with a (7-5, 7-5) win.
The teams were playing on just four courts, so the No. 5 and No. 6 matches started when a court opened up. Despite being an hour behind the rest of her teammates, Singh was next out with a (6-1, 6-3) win at No. 5, giving the Lady Mocs a 3-2 lead.
Nurik and sophomore Alexa Flynn were both in three-set matches at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. A win in either one would wrap up the team victory.
After losing her first set 7-5, Flynn found herself down 3-1 in the second frame to Natasha James. James had numerous ad-points, but Flynn stayed alive and won the game. She went on to win the set and score a (5-7, 6-4, 6-2) win. That made the team tally 4-2 as the Lady Mocs took the dual. Nurik eventually lost her match at No. 1 while Bossy recorded a straight-set win at No. 6 to end the scoring.
"This was a great win over a really good team," stated head coach Jeff Clark. "We battled hard at every position and were fortunate to come away with a victory. We are going to have to continue this same level of play tomorrow when we face Murray State."
Chattanooga is back on the courts tomorrow against the host Racers. MSU fell to Evansville 6-1 on Friday. Match time is set for 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) and a link for live scoring will be available on the women's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.
Virginia Tech 7, Davidson 0
BLACKSBURG, Va.- Davidson played its third nationally ranked opponent of the season as it hit the road, falling to No. 61 Virginia Tech 7-0 on Saturday morning at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in women's tennis action.
Davidson (2-4) opened the year against ranked opponents N.C. State and Winthrop, also on the road.
The Wildcats nearly grabbed the doubles point to start the match against the Hokies (5-1), playing very well. The No. 1 team of Stephani Synn and Nisha Crouser fell just 8-7, but Katharine Dicconson and Brites Moniz-Soares came up just short at No. 2 by the score of 8-6.
Va. Tech finished off the team point with an 8-4 win at No. 3 as Catherine Wood and Frizzi Bschorer were defeated.
Moniz-Soares was the lone Wildcat to come close to forcing a third set as the Hokies sweep all six singles matches in straight sets to seal up the 7-0 team win. The sophomore, who saw her three-match singles win streak come to an end, fell 6-4 in the first set to Martinez-Macos at No. 2, but came back to force a second-set tiebreaker, which she eventually fell, 7-2, for the 7-6 setback.
Bschorer took five games against her Tech opponent, falling at No. 6 to Megan Conley, 6-2, 6-3. The sophomore had her two-match singles win streak halted in the process.
Davidson starts a five-match homestand with a match against USC-Upstate and Campbell, Feb. 17-18.
Coastal Carolina 7, Western Carolina 0
CONWAY, S.C. - The Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina defeated Western Carolina in its opening match of the 2012 spring season, blanking the Catamounts Saturday afternoon, 7-0.
Coastal set the tone early with a sweep of the doubles matches. The Catamounts fell in all six singles matches Saturday. In the No. 1 singles match, Miki Bunea defeated Ainhoa Iglesias Díaz 6-2, 6-3. In her first match as the No. 2 singles player for WCU, junior Karen Jiménez was defeated 6-2, 6-2. After dropping the first set 6-0, freshman Megan McLinden fought back to take three games from Coastal's Kristoffersson, but ultimately was defeated in the second set, 6-3. The Chanticleers blanked the Catamounts in the No. 4- No. 6 matches.
Western Carolina will host its first home match this season as the Tornados of Brevard College travel to Cullowhee for a 2 pm, Thursday afternoon tilt at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
Louisville 7, Furman 0
LOUISVILLE, KY. - The Louisville women's tennis team swept the singles and doubles matches to slip past Furman, 7-0, Saturday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center in Louisville, Ky.
The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead after taking the doubles point. Amelia Harris and Manuela Velasquez combined for an 8-6 win over junior Lauren Kline and freshman Alex Moreno in the top spot, and Julia Fellerhoff and Rebecca Shine teamed up to beat sophomores Margaret Boyette and Katherine Oudin, 8-4 at number two doubles. In the third doubles contest, Sarah Miller and Mandy Brown defeated junior Michele Stanford and sophomore Amanda Murray, 9-7.
In singles action, Fellerhoff beat Kline, 6-2, 6-3, at number one, while Shine defeated Oudin, 6-3, 6-4, at number two. In the third singles match-up, Brown posted a 6-1 first-set win over Stanford, then Stanford took the second set, 7-6, to force a decisive tie-breaker. Brown won the tie-breaker, 10-6, for the victory. Miller defeated Moreno, 6-2, 6-1, in the fifth singles match, while Harris recorded a 7-6, 6-3 win over senior Susan Bitetti at number six singles.
Furman (2-4) heads to Boston Feb. 25-26. The Paladins will play at Harvard on Feb. 25 at noon, then play at Boston University on Feb. 26 at 10 a.m.